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Charles and Christopher Smith
Real Names: Charles William and Christopher Jason Smith Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: Houston, Texas Date: September 21, 1984 Bio Occupation: None Date of Birth: '''Unrevealed '''Height: Unrevealed Weight: '''Unrevealed '''Marital Status: '''Single '''Characteristics: Caucasian males. Case Details: Charles and Christopher Smith were the sons of Charles "Chuck" and Carolyn Smith. Chuck was the son of Chick Smith, a wealthy Houston rancher and auto dealer. The couple had met in 1977 when she went to buy a car at Chick's Houston auto dealership. They married in March of 1978, a few months before their son Charles was born. Two years later, Christopher was born. By 1983, the couple's marriage began to fall apart. Chuck was almost always at work and Carolyn was suffering from headaches. After Carolyn filed for divorce, a dispute over the children started, with both sides trying to gain custody of them. After an initial hearing, Carolyn received custody of the children, and Chuck received visitation rights. However, Chuck's father Chick did not want her to have custody of them. On September 21, 1984, Chuck Smith picked up his sons for a weekend visit; they never returned. Carolyn reported her boys missing and a search began. It was later discovered that Chuck first took them to Florida and then England. In January of 1985, Carolyn's private investigator obtained Chick's phone records, which showed that he had made several calls to a Scottish cottage. The next day, Carolyn and her investigator got on a plane to go to Scotland. They were shocked to discover that Chick was also on the flight with a Texas constable. The cottage owner had informed him about a suspicious call from someone claiming to be Chuck's sister. When they arrived in London, Chick was able to slip through customs, while Carolyn was detained for six hours by British authorities. Sadly, by the time that Carolyn and her private investigator arrived in Scotland, Chuck and the boys had vanished again. Six months later, Chuck's parents were ordered to pay Carolyn $53 million after she won a civil suit, the largest custody award in the history of the United States. However, Chuck and the boys have not been located. Suspects: Chuck Smith Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the February 20, 1991 episode. Results: Solved. After the case was re-aired in July of 1991, a tip from a schoolteacher led to Chuck and the boys being found living in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After some political dealing with the Mexican authorities, they were deported back to the United States in January of 1992. Chuck was arrested right off the plane and the boys were reunited with their mother. Chuck claimed that he took his sons because Carolyn, hooked on prescription medication, kept them in poor living conditions; she denied this. He was convicted of custodial interference and sentenced to seven years in prison. At first, the boys had a somewhat cold and distant relationship with their mother, presumably due to the belief that she neglected them. However, after a while, they grew closer to her. After Chuck was released from prison, the boys also resumed their relationship with him. Sadly, Carolyn Smith passed away in 2007, aged forty-nine. Links: * Relatives ordered to pay * Children found * Father who abducted sons returned to Texas * Missing children reunited with mother * Missing kids, mother reunited after 7 years * Worldwide custody battle comes to a halt * The Meanest Divorce * Charles and Christopher Smith Update on SitcomsOnline * Carolyn Smith at Find a Grave ---- Category:Texas Category:Scotland Category:1984 Category:1985 Category:Abduction Category:Disappearances Category:Lost Loves Category:Solved